Profile: Tories put their faith in veteran of political wars Dave Hancock

EDMONTON - When the caucus chose Dave Hancock as interim premier, they put their faith in a veteran of forty years of political wars and the most experienced minister in caucus with half a dozen cabinet posts under his belt.

A true party loyalist, and a strong supporter of Premier Alison Redford as she attempted to weather the recent turmoil under her leadership, Hancock has longer roots in the Conservative party than anyone else in caucus.

Two weeks ago, as Redford faced ongoing questions over the contentious $45,000 that was spent on her trip to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s funeral, Hancock offered a fiery defence of the party leader in the legislature.

“If you’re an MLA or cabinet minister or a premier, one should not have to abandon their family to do their job,” Hancock thundered during question period.

And Hancock, who is known for his mild-manner, stood firm as the party dealt with the defection of MLA Len Webber from the Tory caucus.

“He is a very sad man. He could not take the fact that in this business, there are ups and there are downs and sometimes you’re in and sometimes you’re not,” he said of Webber. “Sometimes that has to do with geography and demographics and sometimes that has to do with whether you came and brought your best game to the table and whether you actually contributed.”

Hancock’s history in the party stretches back decades.

In the early 1970s, he joined Peter Lougheed as president of the party’s youth wing. He spent two decades in the backrooms, including a stint as party president, before running for the seat in Edmonton Whitemud.

And Hancock has known dark days before – when the Conservative party was down in polls in Edmonton. He ran first in 1993 and lost to the Liberal candidate. In 1997, he was one of only two Tories to win in the capital city where Liberals grabbed most of the seats. In the 2004 election, he was one of three Tories re-elected in Edmonton.

A self described red Tory, Hancock has been seen as a voice of moderation in the party for years, an unabashed policy wonk and firm believer in round tables, consultations and policy frameworks.

He was appointed as Deputy Premier and Minister of Innovation and Advanced Education on last December. But during his long career, Hancock has served as Minister of Human Services and Government House Leader as well as Minister of Education.

Most recently, he devised the provinces’ social policy framework and was a key player in Bill One that established new endowments and the Future Fund out of the Heritage Fund.

It was in 2006 that Hancock mad a run for the leadership after Ralph Klein stepped down.

In that leadership race, Hancock described himself: “I wouldn’t say I’m a shy person, but I’m not loud, I’m not aggressive.”

“Sometimes that isn’t what sells, so you have to adjust your style to the expectations. During the course of this campaign, I’m going to demonstrate that I’m a passionate person and that I can be outspoken and moderately aggressive.”

But his critics at the time said Hancock’s trademark humility also held him back, he says.

“You can go to a meeting with David and he will speak eloquently and tell the world his views, but a politician has to get people to buy membership cards, give money and cast a vote,” Kramer says. “David is not willing to pin down people like that. Because of his lack of personal ego, he has not been strong at closing the deal.”

In that leadership campaign, he dared to criticize his own government, including Ralph Klein, for being overly fixated on debt repayment and lacking the political will to plan for the province’s growth.

While observers called the move “risky” for a leadership contender, the statements were all the more remarkable considering they came from someone who has been an unflinching Progressive Conservative loyalist since his teens.

The youngest of seven children, Hancock lived in Fort Vermilion and went to high school in nearby La Crete. His father was one of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s last fur traders, and he raised his family in a series of remote northern locations.

Hancock’s interest in politics had been ignited by the time he reached his late teens. During the 1971 campaign, he made a point of approaching candidates for both the Social Credit party and the Conservatives. The Tory won him over with his superior knowledge of particular local issues.

“The Social Credit incumbent didn’t have the time of day for me. I learned from that.”

A year later, Hancock helped to re-establish the Conservative youth association at the University of Alberta.

He met his wife Janet, who was attending the University of Calgary, at a party youth convention in 1974. The two stayed in touch and eventually started dating. The romance flourished even though Janet once volunteered for a candidate who was running against Hancock for PC youth president.

“David won by one vote, so the big joke was, ‘How did I vote?’“ Janet said.

The couple married in 1979, the same year Hancock graduated from law school and went to work at Matheson & Company. He rose to partner, primarily practising commercial and corporate law, but continued to have a foot in the political scene.

From 1990 to 1992 he served as president of the provincial Conservatives, before deciding to run. Liberal Mike Percy beat him in the Edmonton-Whitemud riding in the 1993 election, but when Percy decided not to run again in 1997, Hancock took the seat.

Since joining the legislature, he has held several cabinet posts, including intergovernmental and aboriginal affairs, justice, advanced education, health, education and human service. He also served as government house leader for many years.

Throughout that career, Hancock has generally practised politics in the way he hosts a dinner party. While others are out front where the action is, he’s been making sure things are cooking up nicely in the back.

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Profile: Tories put their faith in veteran of political wars Dave Hancock

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